toxicTom: And how is that supposed to work? Achievements have to be implemented in the game, and then (if supported) the client running it is notified. The old games simply had no achievements, to implement them you would need the source code and basically make a port with triggers at certain points in the game.
Use a patched emulator, that is how retroachievements.org do it.
Early DOS games only need 640 KB RAM at best, and memory mapping is clear and fixed.
Later games may need RAM up to 16~32 MB, but it is like zero in today's system.
Windows games are much more complex, adding achievement will be much more difficult.